Tastes like sweet peaches, cream and pickles
Written: Sep 26 '00 (Updated Sep 27 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Extraordinarily well-written, informative and useful throughout the MBA application process.
Cons: Not enough discussion about the strengths and weaknesses of specific programs.
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| BunnyJav's Full Review: How To Get Into the Top Mba Programs Books |
I have no idea what the title of this opinion means, but I am working on very little sleep, too little coffee, and it made sense to me! :)
Important Note: I was the first person to review this book, and, thus, the person who added this book to Epinions. The category title is "How to Get Into an M.B.A. Program", but the actual book's title is "How To Get Into the Top M.B.A. Programs." I am unsure as to why the titles differ, even though I had entered the correct ISBN number and author, but I have enclosed a link to the publisher at the bottom of this review so that you can familiarize yourself with the cover of the book should you try and find it in a bookstore or online.
Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled review:
Have you ever been so overwhelmed by a task that it seemed that you were drowning? Have you ever been so confused by the sheer magnitude of what lies ahead of you that the mere thought of beginning it causes a minor panic attack? Welcome to my world.
If you have read my profile, or if you have read any of my other reviews, then you know that I am in the midst of applying to graduate school to get my M.B.A. One year ago, when I first began to consider seriously the prospect of applying to graduate school, I approached the task rather lightly. I assumed that the application process would parallel that of my undergraduate application process when I took the top-ten-ranked schools, wrote one or two essays which were adaptable to each application and submitted my applications with the $20 application fee. I figured that I would wait until the "Business Week" and "U.S. News and World Report" ranking came out and then I would apply to the top ten. I could not have been more wrong.
First off, I did not consider the fact that I would have to conduct the application process while working 70 hours a week. High school teachers are much more understanding of the demands applying will place on you; your boss will probably not be as understanding. Second, I did not realize that the strengths and weaknesses of each business school are much more pronounced than the strengths and weaknesses at undergraduate schools. Thus, the rankings -- so important to my liberal-arts-college-application process -- become meaningless if the number-one graduate school in the country is weak in your desired field of study. Third, I did not realize that each school would have an average of three essays, every one distinct from another. Fourth, I didn't realize that your recommender, i.e., your bosses, have to write roughly seven short-answer essays about you for each school (and each school's recommendation form is different.) And lastly, I did not realize that the applications cost upwards of $150 per school! These aspects make the stakes much higher, the applications more complicated, and the process all the more difficult.
I learned all of these things from "How to Get Into the Top M.B.A. Programs", which has become my bible in the past two months. This book provides a "cradle-to-grave" approach to the application process, discussing everything from the decision to get an MBA to what to do once you get into a program. Unfortunately, I did not purchase the book until this past summer, so I was not able to benefit fully from their suggestions. However, the book has been an invaluable reference tool as I have attempted to navigate blindly through the application process.
The book is 434 pages long of text and is published by Prentice Hall. The chapter titles alone give you a very good sense of what the book is about, so I have chosen to quote directly from pages xv-xvii of the Preface, entitled "How to Benefit Most From This Book." In the Preface, the chapter overviews are well summarized and succinctly put (two things of which I am incapable!):
Note: The following chapter overview is quite long, as there are 16 chapters in the book. Since I am quoting text directly from the book, please feel free to scroll through to the end of the overview, unless you are genuinely interested in purchasing this book (in which case I would recommend reading all the way through so you can see how in-depth this book is.) Bold text was added by me.
"Chapter 1, Why Get an MBA? explains the advantages of getting an MBA, particularly from a top program.
"Chapter 2, Types of MBA Programs, surveys the different types of programs, including the differences between typical American programs and typical European programs. It also explains what to expect from the business school experience itself.
"Chapter 3, How to Use the Rankings, shows what various authorities have considered the top schools in America, Europe, and the rest of the world. It explains the basis for the rankings and urges caution in using them, due to the limitations of their methodologies.
"Chapter 4, Make the Most of Your Credentials, explains in detail the qualities schools look for in candidates and how they determine from your application to what extent you possess them. Besides showing what schools look for, it explains how you can augment your credentialsto improve your admission chances, even in the months immediately before applying. Included is an extensive discussion of how to best prepare for the GMAT exam.
"Chapter 5, How to Choose the Right School for You, shows how to find schools that will provide you with the type of program you need, the atmosphere in which you will learn best, and the best reputation among employers...
"Chapter 6, The Admissions Process, profiles typical admissions officers and shows how the decision-making process works at typical schools.
"Chapter 7, Financing Your MBA, explains financing strategies for obtaining your MBA. It lays out the principal means of financing an MBA, discusses your options for financing, and suggests good sources for detailed information on scholarships and loans.
"Chapter 8, Marketing Yourself:General Principles, examines how you can portray your candidacy as bringing the maximum value to a program with a minimum of risk... It includes an extended analysis of how people with different professional backgrounds... are likely to be evaluated by admissions offices--and shows the imperatives that face each type of applicant.
"Chapter 9, Understanding the Key Essay Topics, thoroughly analyzes each of the 21 most common essay questions. The most typical mistakes people make are discussed along with how you can capitalize on your own strengths and present yourself in the best light.
"Chapter 10, How to Write Persuasive Essays (Author's note: A bonus for Epinions writers! :) ), explains what admissions officers look for in your writing. For those who are uncomfortable writing essays, it describes what should be done at each stage of the writing process to produce a high-quality essay package. It also offers a large set of do's and don'ts for writing compact, powerful essays.
"Chapter 11, Recommendations, shows how to determine who will be your best recommenders, how to approach them and weed out the lukewarm from the very positive ones, and how to get them to write what you want (without offending them!)
"Chapter 12, Interviews, shows you how to prepare for the critical interviews. You need to know the strengths and weaknesses of your candidacy, the nature of the school and the program, and the questions most frequently asked in application interviews...
"Chapter 13, Application Timetable, gives a typical application schedule covering all of the tasks you must perform, from getting information about schools through requesting transcripts and writing your essays to submitting the applications and financial aid forms.
"Chapter 14, Responding to Wait-Listing, rejections, and other Disappointments, explains how to handle wait-listing, being placed on hold, and outright rejection. it also explores how to reapply to a school that once rejected you.
"Chapter 15, What to Do Once You Are Accepted, shows you how to leave your job without creating ill will. It then provides detailed suggestions for how best to prepare for business school...
"Chapter 16, How to Get the Most Out of Business School, suggests how you can maximize the benefits of your business school experience..."
The Appendix provides 115 successful essay examples.
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STOP SCROLLING!! :)
Whew! Are you still with me? Good. Now you can see how this book has been able to help me, the hapless applicant. The good news is, despite the true title of this book, these steps apply to any business school application process, no matter what its rank, and may even apply to other graduate programs as well (although I have no basis of comparison.)
For me, the most valuable chapters were 2, 3, 5 and 9-13. These were the chapters which provide you with a crash course in how to proceed through the admissions process. Oddly enough, chapter 13, which incudes the application timetable that you should follow, is placed dead-center in the book. By the time I got to it, I was already too late in the year for several of their suggestions. Despite that, though, the book gives terrific, in-depth tips to minimize the stress of this process. Unfortunately for me, since I had not started early enough, reading chapter-by-chapter all of the things I was going to have to take care of in the next two months was a frightening experience which began to keep me up at night. That was a good thing. Had I not read the book when I did, or had I not read the book at all, I might have started the process even later, which would have eliminated any chance I would have had of getting everything completed on time.
The entire process is dissected in excrutiating detail (kind of like this Epinion), and the book is peppered with quotations from deans of admissions at the top schools around the world. These quotations were good and bad: they were bad because everyone seemed to say the same things, in different words, over and over again. This, too, was a good thing since it really hammered the point home that each of these schools are looking for the same basic things, so this book would be useful no matter where you chose to apply.
As you might have been able to tell by now, this book reviews the process of applying to business school, and not the business schools themselves. Although it wasn't really the point of the book, I would have liked to see a little more discussion regarding the relative strengths and weaknesses of each top school, perhaps in chapter 5, "How to Choose the Right School for You." I had to go to another book to try and eeke out some insider info on the schools, Princeton Review's "The Best 80 Business Schools", which I have reviewed at
http://mawrter.epinions.com/book-review-736E-7BD382D-39B98043-prod1
plug, plug, plug! :)
Overall, I could not recommend this book any higher if you are looking to apply to business school. My suggestion would be, should you choose to buy the book, would be to get it a year or so before you intend to apply to school, read the entire book cover-to-cover, and then re-read the appropriate chapters (specifically the ones I mentioned in a previous paragraph) when you are at that respective stage of the application process. Although this book was long, it provided for quick, easy bedtime reading and I actually found it difficult to put down. Once you get into business school, loan this book to your younger, business-school-bound peers. It will be the best gift you ever could have given them.
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If you would like to read more on the book (the publisher's one-paragraph description and picture of the book), go to
http://www.phdirect.com/search/?atomic=product&cmd=det&isbn=0130182974&quicktext=Montauk&type=author&
If, for any reason, this link does not work, go to http://www.phdirect.com and search by author for "Montauk".
If you would like to see how schools are ranked this year, click on:
http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/00/
or
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/beyond/gradrank/mba/gdmbat1.htm
I hope that this Epinion has helped you. If I can help you in any way, or if you have any suggestions or comments regarding this review, please either email me or leave a comment below.
Thanks for reading! :)
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
BunnyJav
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Location: Minneapolos, MN
Reviews written: 34
Trusted by: 59 members
About Me:
"You're the true Lord of the Dance, no matter what those idiots at work say"
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